The Shadow Chasers
by jettmanas
Summary: When relics from the Dark Hour go missing in Tatsumi Port Island, Japan, Mitsuru calls upon WOOHP for investigation specialists. Sam, Alex, and Clover find this is more than a simple theft, and enter the world of Persona. Set after the events of TS S.6 and Persona 4 Arena Ultimax. No need to be a TS or Persona fan; all will be explained!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This takes place after the end of Season 6 of Totally Spies, and after the story of PlayStation 3 game: Persona 4 Arena Ultimax. If you haven't seen any Totally Spies, I recommend at least trying the fantastic movie, which features the origin. Persona 3, Persona 4 Arena, and P4A Ultimax playthroughs may be found on YouTube, or you can buy the games! Persona 3 has four movies which compile the story. This is my longest fic yet, and is complete. Thank you for reading- enjoy.**

 **Apartment Building, Tatsumi Port Island, Japan**

Cars and pedestrians occasionally pass by a nondescript middle-class apartment on the eastern side of the impressive city. In the early evening, lights illuminate various windows of the structure.

Behind closed blinds of one window, a poorly-shaven thin man with receding hair and bad facial skin gazed into the computer's monitor, poring over data. He typed until a window with security camera footage appeared. When he pressed play, a night scene appeared, with boxes being transferred from a long black car to the entrance of a police station. The man noticed a woman in a white fur coat with a rapier, supervising the transfer.

He looked over a picture of a group of eclectic young people, including this woman. He looked over data on unusual artifacts, then noted the address of the police station with an intent look in his eyes.

The man then read over a journal entry from a man named Jin:

 _Tonight, Takaya and I are going to Tartarus to stop those punks from interfering. Not that they have a chance against almighty Nyx. Takaya and I will be outnumbered, but our resolve is set._

 _When Nyx comes, the world will be cleansed and reborn. Dad, Kaito, if you somehow read this, I hope you understand how important this is to me. Goodbye._

Kaito frowned in concern with the difficulty of what he must attempt.

 _Those punks were responsible for Jin's passing,_ Kaito thought. _But my brother deserves to have his work carried on. I must not fail._

 **Mali-U Humanities Building**

Alex, a slim, athletic Latino girl with a pixie cut, dressed in a blue long sleeve top, black jeans and flats is seated near the back of a classroom, using a mechanical pencil to fill in answers on a paper.

The class full of test-takers does the same, some erasing, leaning back and shifting a bit in their seats.

Students begin to finish, grab their belongings, and leave their tests on the teacher's desk before exiting the well-lit modern classroom. Alex checks over her work and is one of the last to leave.

Walking down a white, spacious hallway to the building's exit, she smiles at a small group of familiar classmates chatting. They'd reached the set of double doors to the exit just before her. A stocky guy with short brown hair holds the door for her and the others as they exit.

"Alex, how's it going?" he asks cordially.

"Good, now that the test's over," she replies with a smirk, "how 'bout you?"

"Okay, thanks to all that studying," he said, earning a nod from an athletic young Asian man nearby.

The group made small talk about the test and a few other subjects before parting ways. Dropping her backpack on the nearest bench, Alex checks for messages on her phone, takes a drink from her cylindrical metal water bottle, and takes a seat to relax.

 **Mali-U Library**

Sam, a striking redhead with a unique center peak to her hairdo, sports a cream-colored long sleeve top, brown leggings, and leather boots. She finished reviewing notes with a few other students in a comfortable study room. They gathered up their belongings and exited the lower-ceiling room positioned against a wall into the spacious center of the library.

"Take care Sam," said a dark-skinned young woman dressed in a purple top and long white skirt.

"Bye Becky!" replied Sam. The others all gave parting words to one another before splitting up.

After exiting the through one of the main entrance doors to the large structure, Sam checked her phone briefly, then calmly took in the familiar sights of the beautifully landscaped path leading to the central part of campus. Students made their way to various parts of campus. She smiled to those she made eye contact with, content with the day.

 **Mali-U Creative Arts Building**

The tall, modern building on the west side of the campus stood out with its unique giant front wall of continuous windows, edged with chrome. Students flooded out, some chatting in small groups. Clover, a blonde young woman with a unique forelock hairstyle, was talking with a female student with curly brown hair wearing a black leather jacket, and a tall young man with glasses and an hooded sweatshirt and jeans.

"Another week- Well, gotta go. Take care everyone!" the brunette called out to the others.

"Yup, see you girls," the guy said to the others with a slight wave.

"Okay, see you Monday," Clover said to the classmates, separating from them to take another path.

Dressed in a pink square neck short sleeve top, white pants, and matching sneakers, Clover checked her phone, then noticed a growing number of students nearby. Someone at a podium was making a speech, but Clover was focused on getting to the Cafe to unwind after finishing another week.

 **A/N: Thank you for reading. Please review & favorite to show your support!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Mali-U Penthouse Dorm**

In the living room, Clover finished sorting the sparse mail on the coffee table, and briefly left to toss the ads into the recycling bin. "Advanced Theater was so good today," she announced.

Alex refilled Oinky's water bowl under the tap in the kitchen, then set it down on a small mat near the sliding glass door to the patio. Light filled the room well, despite some cloud cover. "Cool!" she replied, looking to Clover as she stood back up."I'm happy with how my psych test went," she said.

"How about you, Sam?" she added.

"Oh, things are okay-" she started, when the sound of her X-Powder on vibrate interrupted her.

She dug into her backpack sitting on a couch nearby, retrieved what appeared to be a metallic purple compact, and opened up the high tech gadget to accept the call. A holographic image of a slim, balding man in his sixties with a thin mustache in a black suit and tie appeared.

"Evening, ladies. I trust this is a good time to join me?" he inquired politely.

"Yeah, thanks for the heads up, Jerry," Sam replied, as Clover and Alex moved to either side of her to look on. She ended the call, snapped the device shut, and braced herself. Incredibly, the hardwood floor under the three young women split apart via sliding trap doors.

"Whoaa!" they cried in unison, sliding down a miracle of technology; a World Organization of Human Protection (WOOHP) Tunnel. The blue slide sent them sliding an impossibly long distance underground in mere moments from Malibu to-

 **World Organization of Human Protection (WOOHP) HQ- Downtown Los Angeles**

The ceiling trap doors of the technologically stunning office parted, and the girls dropped down from the opening onto a comfortable Victorian couch with red cushioning. Jerry was seated at his metallic desk, looking at the desktop monitor. "Nice of you to join me. How goes college life?" he inquired, looking up at his visitors.

"Pretty good, thanks," Sam replied, composing herself after the wild ride. "With the mission shortage, we've been focused on classes, and having a social life to boot," she said. Clover and Alex gave a nod.

"Glad to hear it," Jerry replied. "I hand off most standard missions to other agents, but there's been an unusual theft in Japan that could use the investigative skills of you three," he said, folding his hands and resting his chin on them.

"I took a semester of Japanese last semester! Haven't been on a mission there in a while though," Alex announced, eyes narrowed in concern.

"A police station in Tatsumi Port Island reported a few unusual artifacts were stolen last night," Jerry informed them. He pressed a console button to cause images of the small man-made island, as well as the police station exterior and the three artifacts to appear on the wall-sized monitor behind him.

"Wow, somebody's got guts. How'd they pull that off?" Alex mused, slightly surprised.

"Excellent question. A thorough investigation, including examination of security cameras, has turned up nothing. The artifacts were left there by a CEO named Mitsuru Kirijo. She contacted us after learning of our cutting edge technology in such matters," Jerry said, pressing a keyboard button to bring up the portrait of a young Japanese woman with long, dark red hair that curled down into a unique style.

"I packed the M-Ray Contacts, Laser Lipstick, and other favorites in your Jet pack Backpacks," Jerry said. A button press caused a large drawer to pop out from the front of the desk, wherein laid three pink heart-shaped backpacks with daisy motifs.

"One new gadget inside, due to the need for extensive communication. The Earring Translators," Jerry said. "With them, you'll be able to understand Japanese perfectly. And your voices will be modulated to be understood in Japanese. Your X-Powders can change the language setting for them on future missions," he informed them.

"Wow, that's quite an invention. WOOHP could make quite a profit on the market with those babies," Clover said, visibly impressed. Jerry smiled wanly in return.

"Guess these artifacts must be pretty important if we're being called out," Sam considered as she, Alex, and Clover hefted their backpacks and put them on.

"Yes, unfortunately, Miss Kirijo has mentioned the fate of the world being at stake," Jerry mentioned with a slight frown, and rubbed his forehead. "Thankfully, you have 10 minutes to pack for the trip back home, since this may take more than a day. I'll have the jet swing by the usual spot. Sayonara!" Jerry called out, and pressed a button.

The ceiling parted above the girls, and a powerful vacuum pulled the three straight back up through the tube to a chorus of adrenaline-fueled yelps as they flew back home.

 **A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Thanks very much for reading. Please review and favorite if you did!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Mali-U Penthouse Dorm**

The trio each had their small rolling suitcases with them poolside on their dorm rooftop outside patio. A high-tech, sleek grey jet flew into view and slowed to a hover. A vacuum tube extended from its underbelly, and the girls carefully gripped their luggage before being sucked up a short distance into the tube and inside the jet. The tube retracted and the plane flew off, picking up altitude through the cloudy sky.

 **Tatsumi Port Island, Japan**

After an incredibly short, uneventful trip, the high-speed jet arrived over their destination and dropped in altitude to its programmed coordinates. The girls had quickly exited the plane in an open area of a downtown park. The plane, on autopilot, lifted off to return to WOOHP. Alex had her X-Powder out, checking the location of their nearby hotel. The girls rolled their suitcases along a paved path through the picturesque park until they reached the city streets of the downtown area, and their hotel. After checking in, dropping off their things, and a brief rest stop, they were back out to catch a cab to the police station.

They soon arrived at the drop-off section of the curb before a modern, nondescript station. Alex paid the fare, and they exited the cab.

"Are we really going to find something the police missed in their own station?" Clover asked as they walked to the station's front doors.

"Well, we do have our WOOHP gadgets," Sam replied hopefully to the others.

Clover and Alex made small sounds of agreement. "I'm just glad we're cooperating officially," Alex noted, "I would not want to break in here," she said firmly.

Clover and Sam gave nods of agreement, Sam held the door for her friends, and the trio entered the station. As they approached the front desk, a middle-aged man looked at the three young foreign women with mild surprise. Sam held out her WOOHP ID with a reassuring smile.

"Hi, we're here from WOOHP to assist Ms. Kirijo's investigation," she said.

The translator gadget seemed to have worked. The man looked over the badge, then nodded. "Yes, she just got here. I'll have someone take you there," he said, catching the eye of a young wiry man and waving him over. "Evidence room. Thanks," the desk officer said curtly, then took an incoming call.

The younger man nodded, then gestured to the visitors to follow him. "Please, this way," he announced, leading unusual visitors through the high-tech, relatively quiet main hub of the station. The well-lit area was filled with sleek workstations with top-of-the line computers; a color theme of black, white and beige pervasive throughout.

The officer walked into a lower ceiling, off-white hallway that connected from the main room with the others in tow. He stopped at a door, which he gestured to, and made eye contact with the girls.

"Thanks," Sam said to the young man, with a cordial smile. Alex and Clover did the same in turn.

He nodded in respect with a bashful smile of his own, gave a short wave, and walked off.

The girls entered, and saw a beige-painted room lit by fluorescent lights, filled with shelving units, boxes, filing cabinets, and a workstation with a computer. A handsome, intense-looking man in a grey suit, likely in his thirties, was chatting with a woman seemingly their own age with long dark-red hair that curled downward into a spiral. She wore a conservative black business suit. As they entered, they both turned to face them.

"Ah, you must be the WOOHP agents," the man said. "I'm Asahi from Public Security," he said.

"You, uh, understood my English?" he asked, unsure.

Clover nodded slightly in response. "Hi, good to meet you. I'm Clover," she replied. "No worries on speaking English. These are high-tech translators. We can understand each other if you speak Japanese," she confided, pointing to one of her small, stud earrings.

"Hm, impressive technology. I'm Mitsuru," the woman said, bowing slightly. "Thank you for coming all this way," she added.

Sam and Alex respectfully introduced themselves. Asahi tugged his tie nervously, surprised to find himself working with four attractive young women. Looking at the newcomers, though, he got the feeling that they were pros, maybe as tough as Mitsuru. He'd never forget when Mitsuru had saved his life due to a serious mistake on his part in this very same room.

"So- yeah, a theft here is a first," he started. "You've heard that video cameras have nothing. Well, except for a slight glitch last night around 8:30," Asahi said, crossing his arms in thought. "They may have been tampered with... I've talked with everyone in the station, and everyone checks out for the time of the robbery. And forensics- is just down the hall. They came here and got nothing," Asahi finished with an exhale and a frown.

"It's quite perplexing. Oh, you don't even know what was stolen yet," Mitsuru confided. "A ring, a small mirror, and a dagger. These relics contain a power that could be catastrophic in the wrong hands. This is no random theft, for sure," she said tersely.

"Could be some cloaking technology that makes someone invisible," Alex mused.

Asahi and Mitsuru looked at her with mild surprise.

"We've seen a lot of crazy stuff over the years. Shape shifting, clones, you name it," Clover said.

"That kind of tech is a possibility. WOOHP has an invisibility gadget," Sam said, with a nod.

"But we have our own high tech gear for this investigation," she added, and pulled off her backpack and opened it. Clover and Alex did the same, and all three soon had their M-Ray Contacts out of their cases and covering their eyes. The girls then hit a button on the X-Powders which transformed them from wearing their casual wear, to brightly colored catsuits in a shimmer of energy.

Clover in red, Sam in green, and Alex in gold.

Asahi and Mitsuru stared mutely, shared a look, then turned back to the girls dumbfounded.

"The contacts let us see through solid objects and traces of stuff that's usually not visible," Alex confided with Asahi and Mitsuru, as she and her teammates spread out to search for clues. She stopped after a moment, and turned back to Asahi and Mitsuru. "Oh, and these are our mission outfits. Cool, huh?" she added with a proud smile.

Mitsuru managed a nod, and Asahi quickly assented as he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

Alex was looking through the storage rack boxes (without needing to open them) for anything unusual.

She also didn't need to shift boxes to see in small gaps between them where a clue may be hidden.

Sam searched the computer desk, then removed her contacts to focus on the computer screen itself.

Clover opted for a slow sweep of the room, along the walls, looking from floor to ceiling for anything out of place.

Asahi joined Sam at the computer, and clicked on the folder marked Evidence List. "As you can see, everything in here is cataloged. We checked this earlier, and found it was accessed at 8:34 PM last night, which gives us a time- right after that camera glitch," he said. Sam looked at him in consideration for a moment.

"The thief didn't bother to try and cover his tracks since it'd be discovered he deleted his history," she surmised. "No keyboard prints, right? You mentioned forensics didn't find anything," she muttered.

Asahi nodded mutely in response, hand to the stubble-covered chin in thought.

Mitsuru looked through the three boxes that were stolen from with Alex, looking for any clues.

"Got something!" Clover called out suddenly, causing Mitsuru to glance up in surprise.

 **A/N: Hope you enjoyed. Thanks for reading. Please review and favorite if you did!**


	4. Chapter 4

"Seriously?" Asahi replied, as he and the others quickly made their way to Clover.

She was at the far corner opposite the door, pointing to a small air conditioning vent near the ceiling.  
The three screws that remained were unevenly flush to the vent cover.

"Whoa, good eye, Clover!" Alex said appreciatively. Clover smiled in return.

"Can't believe you found something, but I doubt it's a lead. A person couldn't fit in there," Asahi noted.

Clover nodded, then activated her jetpack to the surprise of Asahi and Mitsuru. She floated to the vent and unscrewed one of the loose bolts by hand.

"Screwdriver, coming up," Sam announced to her after making eye contact. She tossed up a metallic pink bracelet she'd fished out of her backpack, which Clover caught. Clover pressed a button and a small screwdriver popped out of a slot, which she used to get to work on the remaining screws.

"Found the other screw," Alex said holding it aloft. She'd spotted it behind a potted plant with her M-Rays. "You mentioned a person couldn't fit," she said to Asahi. "But we've dealt with pint-sized robots and people in the past-" she mused. He and Mitsuru once again shared a surprised look.

Before either could reply, they noticed Sam caught the screws Clover tossed down. She handed them over to Asahi, who put them in his coat pocket. Clover hovered back down with the vent cover, handed it to Alex, and flew back up to the shaft. She pressed a button on the Multi-Function Charm Bracelet to send a beam of light into the dark.

"Scratch marks in the shaft here," she informed the others.

"Same here," Alex said with interest, holding the vent cover so the others could see the inside face of it.  
They looked closely at it and saw that a series of small slashes marred the metal cover.

"I'll get that," Sam said, holding out her X-Powder to press a button. A click signified a standard photo, followed by a purple light passing over it for a scan. She pressed another button, and a holographic image of Jerry, from the shoulders up, appeared on the upper half of the high-tech compact.  
Asahi and Mitsuru looked at the older gentleman with curiosity.

"Hello Sam. How goes the mission?" he inquired cordially.

"We've got a lead, Jerry. Can you check out these marks on the inside of this air vent cover?" she asked, pressing a button to transfer the data to him.

"I'll have the lab get on it ASAP. And get you the results once we know. Ta ta," he said with a smile.

Alex set the vent cover alongside the wall under the opening, and Clover landed and deactivated her jetpack. "We know ventilation shafts from years of experience," Clover said, walking towards the exit. "Time to go to the roof," she said, sparing a glance over her shoulder before opening the door for everyone else.

Everyone made their way out of the room, through the station and out the front entrance, receiving a few stunned looks, thanks to their inexplicable outfit change.

The group of five stood to the side of the double doors, in front of a series of wall-sized windows, under the sturdy metallic overhang outside.

"Be right back," Alex said musically, as she, Sam, and Clover ignited their jetpacks and flew up to the roof. Mitsuru simply gazed after them before turning to Asahi.

"Their technology," Mitsuru said, with a hint of wonder.

"You're telling me. The police could really use gear like that," he replied.

Mitsuru nodded. Faint sounds of traffic and city life filled the air as she pulled out her white Kirijo smartphone to check for messages and make a call.

 **Police Station Roof, Tatsumi Port Island**

The girls landed and made a quick sweep on their way to the ventilation shaft, each covering their own area. As they reached the shaft cover, the same sort of scratches were visible. Screws were strewn about, and a small piece of cloth appeared to be stuck in a bottom corner of the cover. Alex deftly brought out her X-Powder and opened it, plucked the cloth out, and set it onto the device. She pressed a small red button, blinking in the cold breeze of the higher altitude.

"Says it's just cloth. Might have fingerprints or some trace of human DNA," Alex said hopefully.  
She pressed another button, then pulled the sample off the X-Powder and stashed everything in her backpack. "Sent over a scan to Jer," she announced.

"Thanks, Alex," Sam replied. "I think that's it. Let's go back down," she suggested.

They promptly fired up their jetpacks to hover back down to join Asahi and Mitsuru. The businesswoman returned her phone to a coat pocket and looked at them with expectation.

"We found a piece of cloth in the vent cover and sent the sample off for analysis," Clover said.  
"Found more of those scratches, too," Alex noted. "Oh, we don't need the cloth itself anymore," she said in realization. She crouched to grab the cloth out of her backpack and handed it to Asahi. "Can you give this to the police? We can race to see who comes up with info first," she said with a smile.

"Sure thing. Thanks," Asahi replied, impressed with their investigation.

"Yes. Well done, thank you. Not even Aigis detected the ventilation cover when she stopped by," Mitsuru mused, looking at them with appreciation.

"You're welcome," Sam replied, curious who Aigis was. "Ms. Kirijo, you mentioned the three relics can cause great danger, but we have no idea what that is," she said, gesturing to Alex and Clover. "If we knew the details, we'd probably be able to help more," she explained.

Mitsuru sighed, looking at them evenly. "Of course. Can I fill you in over dinner at my estate? Say 5:30 tonight?" she inquired hopefully. "You'll meet my team as well," she added.

"Sounds good. Thanks," Clover replied for all three of them.

"See you, Mitsuru. Good meeting you ladies," Asahi said with a slight smile.  
"Thanks for your work, and let me know if you need anything from us," he said, handing Alex his business card, before turning to walk back into the station.

"Sure thing. Bye," Alex replied, followed by goodbyes from the others.

"That reminds me, shall we exchange contact info as well?" Mitsuru asked.

Sam nodded, and they exchanged numbers, Sam with her X-Powder, and Mitsuru with her phone.

Mitsuru turned to a luxury sedan that had pulled up in front of the station, and climbed into the back seat, before looking up at them. "Where are you staying?" she asked.

"The Z Hotel downtown. Why?" Sam replied curiously.

"I'll send my driver by at 5 to pick you up outside," she said evenly.

"Really? Thanks! That's nice of you," Alex replied. Sam and Clover assented as well.

"Very well, I'll see you then," Mitsuru said.

"Bye," each of the girls replied. Mitsuru closed the car door with a quiet sound, and the vehicle pulled out and drove off.

The spies checked to be sure they weren't being watched. Satisfied, Alex then pressed a button on her X-Powder to change back to casual clothes, and Sam and Clover did the same.

Alex looked to Sam and Clover and sighed. "These translator gadgets are making my semester of Japanese sort of unnecessary," she said.

Sam smiled at Alex as they walked out to the main street from the station, the sounds of automobiles becoming more pronounced. "I don't think a semester would quite cover the level we'd need for this mission," she said diplomatically. "I'm sure Mitsuru knows English well, but for most other people, this is probably most convenient," Sam reasoned. Alex smiled back in return.

A low profile cab ride back to the hotel seemed more discreet than drawing attention by flying over busy city streets. Soon they'd waved down the nearest cab and were on their way. After going over what they'd learned and searching a few leads, it was time to get cleaned up, changed and meet the driver outside the front of the cutting-edge glass and chrome style hotel.

 **A/N: Hope you enjoyed. Thanks for reading, and possibly your fav and review. It really means a lot to me!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Apartment Building, Tatsumi Port Island**

Kaito breathed out, clearing his mind a bit and glanced at the ring, dagger, and mirror on his desk, then looked back to his computer monitor. Progress had been made on deciphering how to use the relics. It was certainly easier than using his robot to break into the police station and recover the relics in the first place. He took a drink from a nearby glass and smiled.

 _Just a bit more and I'll have the answers I need._

 _Big changes are coming, and they're long overdue._

 **Kirijo Estate- Evening**

Sam, Clover, and Alex exited the sedan before the large three-story mansion. Beautiful landscaping surrounded both the building and the driveway which ended in a circular roundabout in front of the stately residence. They gave their thanks to the chauffeur and climbed a few steps to the large oak double doors. A moment after Alex rang the doorbell, it was answered by a maid. She looked to be in her twenties, with shoulder-length hair of a surprisingly purple hue.

"Good evening. I'm Kikuno, Miss Kirijo's head maid. Please come in," she said warmly, and gave a short bow.

"Hello, I'm Clover. Thank you," the blonde woman replied with a short bow, and entered.  
Sam and Alex gave their own greetings and short bows before entering, followed by Kikuno closing the door behind them. She then took the lead to guide them from the foyer through the high-ceiling main hall. Paintings and framed photos lined the walls, and occasional end tables held what appeared to be valuable vases and other antiques. Large potted ferns were set in corners of the large room, and a grand staircase drew one's attention to its impressive construction.

"Wow, this place is amazing," Alex said, looking towards the chandelier, then back to where they were being led. Sam and Clover assented as Kikuno came to a stop near a large doorway on a side wall, gesturing for them to enter.

"Good meeting you," Kikuno said to the guests, as they walked through the doorway.  
"Likewise. Take care!" Alex said with a smile. Sam and Clover nodded to her as they passed through.

The room was decorated similar to other rooms, and there was a door on the opposite side of the room, presumably to the kitchen. A dark mahogany table, long enough to seat 12 people, was occupied by Mitsuru and a number of strangers roughly their age. Mitsuru, who was wearing a tan turtleneck sweater, was seated at the head of the table. She'd been chatting with an athletic young man, surprisingly with white (presumably dyed) hair. He wore a long sleeved dark blue shirt, and had eyes an unusual shade of grey. They both nodded when the guests arrived, and gave polite smiles.  
The other guests noticed this and finished their talks as well to focus on the foreign guests.

"Thank you for coming," Mitsuru greeted them, as they found vacant seats. The large chairs had high backrests, and they opted to simply slip into them, rather than try to move the heavy things.

"Thank you for having us," replied Sam. "And for the ride," she added happily.

"Of course," returned Mitsuru. "This is Akihiko Sanada," she announced, subtly gesturing to the man on her right she'd been talking with.

"Good to meet you," he said in a confident tone.

Alex and Sam blinked, then returned greetings. Then glanced at Clover.

"Yes. Very good to meet you,"Clover said, smiling broadly, struggling to keep composed.  
Akihiko gave them winning smiles in return.

"Yukari Takeba," Mitsuru continued, gesturing to a brown-eyed young woman seated to her left.  
She wore a warm-looking green long sleeved top, and her brown hair was styled around her head in a unique windswept sort of style.

"Hi! Nice to meet you," she said politely, with a curt nod.

Sam, Alex, and Clover politely returned their greetings.

"Junpei Iori," Mitsuru said, gesturing to a tall, broad-shouldered young man seated next to Yukari.  
He wore a black sweater, had unruly black hair, and a goatee.

"Heya ladies. Good meeting ya," he said lightly with a broad smile.

Alex returned his smile in equal measure, and the girls gave their greetings to him.

"Aigis," Mitsuru said with a gesture to a young woman with short, unruly blonde hair seated by Akihiko. She had surprisingly bright blue eyes, wore a metal headband, and had unusual metallic disks over her ears. She wore a white long sleeved dress, and seemingly a white high-necked undershirt.

"A pleasure to meet you all," she enunciated formally.

"Ah! Nice to meet you!" Sam said, realizing that this woman was an android; more human-like than she imagined could exist outside of a few enemies on missions. Alex and Clover also greeted her.

"Labrys," Mitsuru continued, and indicated a young woman with a long grey ponytail and an odd knight-like visor perched on her head. She surprisingly had red eyes, and wore a school uniform.

"Hey, good ta meet ya," Labrys said with a heavy northeast U.S. accent.

The visitors replied with polite greetings after the initial surprise of meeting a second android, this one with such an unusually endearing accent.

"And Koromaru," Mitsuru ended.

Not seeing any other people, Sam, Alex, and Clover looked puzzled for a moment, until Aigis lifted a strong-looking albino Shiba dog from the floor briefly to show to the guests. He barked once heartily at the girls, looking towards them with his unusually red eyes.

"Oh, good to meet you, Koromaru!" Alex said happily, followed by Sam and Clover. Aigis set him back down next to her seat, and gave him a fond pat on his head.

"Two of our friends; Fuuka and Ken, couldn't make it tonight," Mitsuru announced.  
"Everyone, this is Sam, Alex, and Clover," she said, gesturing to each in turn. "Despite the size of our group, we don't specialize in investigation. And Naoto Shirogane, a detective, is currently unavailable," she directed to the spies.

The spies nodded in understanding, intent on where the talk was going.

"They've come from an elite group in the U.S. to aid us in our investigation of the stolen relics. And have managed to find a lead thanks to their wits and advanced technology," Mitsuru added.

Various people nodded or smiled at the visitors in respect. Sam, Alex, and Clover replied with shy gratitude for the compliment, when the door to the kitchen swung open, and was fastened in place.  
A number of young maids with dark hair and of polite demeanor entered through the door to the kitchen. They served the large group (except Aigis, Labrys, and Koromaru) a meal of salmon, broccoli, and french bread with cider to the profuse thanks of everyone. Clover discreetly moved her fish onto Alex's plate. "Vegetarian," she said with a smile, in explanation to those that might be curious.

"The results of the tests came in," Sam announced, gaining the attention of everyone. "The scratches on the vent covers were made by some sort of small robot. I'm guessing he used it to access the computer in the room, mess with the security cameras, and even take the goods right back out the vent to the roof," she said, and took a drink of cider. She looked to Clover, who dabbed her mouth with her napkin, then made eye contact with the others.

Clover removed her X-Powder from her purse and looked down at the screen. "And we got the info on traces of DNA that were on the piece of cloth we found," she said. "Guy named Kaito Shirato. We passed on the info to Asahi from Public Safety to see if he can help us get an address," she added. Mitsuru's friends looked curiously at her studying the metallic high tech purple makeup compact, but soon voiced their admiration with the news. Sam, Clover, and Alex smiled humbly.

"No criminal record. Worked in advanced robotics until recently. Has a father, Yoshide.  
A deceased brother named Jin," Alex conveyed the facts on her own X-Powder.

"Jin..." Akihiko quietly said in concern. "A brother..." he trailed off, looking to those around him.

"I'm seeing how someone could actually have a reason to steal that stuff," Yukari said, also sharing concerned looks with her friends.

The table was cleared by a small procession of maids to the thanks of those gathered, and the adjoining door was quietly closed. "I agreed to tell you why those relics could be so dangerous. We should quickly fill you in," Mitsuru stated, then sipped from her glass.

"You may find this hard to believe, but some years ago, we helped save the world from annihilation at the hands of Nyx; the embodiment of Death. Actually, one former teammate was the key to our victory," she said somberly, then looked to Yukari.

"Our leader sacrificed himself to contain that immense power," Yukari said, her voice hitching a bit. Junpei reassuringly put a hand on her shoulder.

"Leading up to that night, we battled monsters called Shadows," Junpei said, his expression serious as he looked to the spies. "They appeared during the Dark Hour; an extra hour that happened every night at midnight, but only for Persona users," he said, then looked around for someone else to continue.

"A Persona is a supernatural entity that a select few, such as ourselves can call forth to battle Shadows," Aigis said, drawing the attention of everyone. "All non-Persona users appeared to us as immobile coffins during the Dark Hour," she said evenly. "When Nyx was stopped, the Shadows and Dark Hour vanished," she said. Junpei nodded grimly, and took a drink.

"Few non-Persona users are aware of all this. Asahi, who you met earlier, is one who is. He accidentally used one of the relics at the police station years ago, and it caused a Shadow to appear," Mitsuru said evenly. Sam, Clover, and Alex nodded, beginning to understand what the relics were capable of now.

"Not all Persona-users wanted to save humanity," Akihiko spoke up. "We had to fight a few that built a movement to welcome Nyx's coming. The second worst was Jin," he said with a slight frown.  
"I'm guessing his brother's out for revenge. He might use those relics to summon the Dark Hour, Shadows, or who knows," he added ominously.

"We had a situation with someone tryin' to do the same sort of thing not too long ago," Labrys stated shyly, not used to speaking in front of a group. "He was tough; captured some of us. Controlled Shadows too. Almost ended the world. But we had some help from another team of friends," she said.

"Kikuno even helped a bit, though she's not a Persona-user," Mitsuru said. "Since that first incident, we've called ourselves the Shadow Operatives. So what do you think?" she asked the guests candidly.

Clover made eye contact with her, then her friends. "Can't imagine why you'd make that up. I believe you," she replied.

Sam nodded in assent. "Exactly," she said simply.

"We've been through craziness ourselves," Alex said. "Mummies. Zombies. Even little green men from space," she added evenly. Everyone but Clover and Sam looked at her with mild shock. "The aliens were friendly. I had to fly their spaceship at the end of the mission," she said, taking a sip of cider and gazing off in recollection.

"I think all this is classified on both sides," Sam said. "But honestly, who else would believe any of this?" she mused.

"True. We don't have official support of the police due to the- supernatural aspect of Personas and Shadows. That said, you've done more than enough already. Due to the nature of Shadows, feel free to return home at any point now. We should be able to take it from here," she said. Sam, Alex, and Clover looked to her in consideration.

 **A/N: Thanks to Wiltarrow who pointed out a serious formatting error. Hope you enjoyed. Feel free to fav & review. I appreciate your support!**


	6. Chapter 6

Sam looked to her friends, read the expressions on their faces, then looked back to Mitsuru, "We appreciate the concern, but we've come this far. And our stealth and spying skills may yet help you catch this guy," she said. Alex and Clover gave Mitsuru a look of agreement.

"You've got a big group, but if we need to fight those creatures, our gear can help us," Clover said.

"With the world at stake, it's tough to just walk away. Also, backup never hurts," Alex added seriously.

Mitsuru nodded in agreement. "Very well. Thank you," she said, and leaned back slightly in her seat. "I almost forgot- Shadows can only be eliminated by specially developed weapons we all have," she said, indicating her friends. I'll be sure to get you some as soon as possible. Does an extendable staff sound like a weapon you three could each use?" she asked.

Sam, Alex, and Clover nodded in agreement. "Then as soon as we get an address on this guy, we contact you and go into spy mode," Sam said to the group to clarify.

"Yes," Mitsuru said, rising from her seat, followed by everyone else. "We'll be ready as soon as you've found him or there's any possibility of Shadow involvement," she added. They made their way from the dining room to the front door, engaged in small talk along the way.

"I nearly forgot. Tomorrow night is a full moon, and Shadow-related activity is often tied into it," Mitsuru said with a sigh. "My guess is nightfall tomorrow is our deadline for finding him," she mused.

"Got it. Well, thanks for having us over. It was a big help," Alex said.

"And it was good meeting everyone," Clover said, making eyes contact with the others, ending with Akihiko. He gave a small, nervous smile.

"Of course. And please accept a ride back to your hotel," Mitsuru replied,.

"Oh, thank you," Sam replied, followed by her friends.

Everyone briefly exchanged farewells before Sam, Alex, and Clover filed out the door to the black sedan that had pulled up outside to take them back to their hotel. Soon after, Akihiko, Yukari, and Junpei had exchanged farewells and were given a ride in another car.

Koromaru was being cared for by Mitsuru while his owner, Ken, was on a trip overseas. Aigis and Labrys lived at the estate. They walked back up the stairs and Aigis closed and locked the door.

"It's unusual to work with outsiders, and especially to reveal that we're Persona-users," Mitsuru confided to her friends as they walked down the main hall.

Aigis gave her a reassuring look. "True, but I feel we can trust them, and hope they feel the same," she said, looking to her, then the others hopefully. Mitsuru gave her a smile, thankful for the support.

 **A/N: If you've decided to read this, thanks for doing so and coming this far. I hope you've enjoyed reading. Please favorite and review if you have. Thank you!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Downtown, Tatsumi Port Island- Following morning**

After a restful night and early breakfast at the hotel, Sam, Alex, and Clover had left to walk to the nearby downtown district to be ready to act on a moment's notice. Impressive skyscrapers and upscale shops were accompanied by sidewalk landscaping, such as large flower planters and small leafy trees.

People walked about, a few taking notice of the three foreign young women.

The day went on with a bit of sightseeing. The girls checked in with Asahi and Sam did some online sleuthing via her X-Powder, but came up empty. After lunch, they returned briefly to their room at the hotel for more focused X-Powder research on leads. Soon, though, they went back out and headed west to explore a new part of town.

"Why's it taking so long to find an address on this guy?" Clover mused as they stopped at a busy intersection to wait for a walk signal. An insect buzzed by her face, which she swatted away absently.

"Good question," replied Sam with a sigh. "I tried looking up addresses with the WOOHP text translator, but the guy seems to have gone off the map for a while," she added and shrugged listlessly.

Alex made eye contact with Sam, exhaled quietly. She looked ahead of her on the pristine stretch of wide sidewalk currently populated by a few middle-aged and elderly people on errands to various destinations. The steady whoosh of cars and an occasional bus filled the air. Parts of Japanese spoken by various people nearby were translated into English thanks to their Earring Translators.

"Last night was so... surreal," Alex finally said after gathering her thoughts. "All those people we met, what they did for the world without anyone knowing..." she trailed off.

"Kind of reminds me of us in some ways," Clover replied, looking at Alex in consideration. "Sounds like they've been through a lot too," she said quietly.

Sam nodded, then startled by a hum from her X-Powder. Clover and Alex looked to her in hopeful expectation. They stopped walking and moved to a nearby circular bench around a planter of colorful flowers and shrubbery. Sam quickly swung her backpack off and around to bring it out and take the call. _Thank goodness for teamwork on this one_ , she thought.

"Hello?" Sam answered hopefully.

"Hey, this is Asahi. Our guy's been covering his tracks for a while, but I finally got an address," the middle-aged man's voice replied. After a moment of typing the data was transmitted over. "Oh, Mitsuru told the police not to worry about those relics of hers and that her team will bring him in. She's trying to keep police or anyone else from getting involved with possibly running into Shadows, but you may want to work fast before someone goes over there," he said.

"Thanks! We're on our way," Sam replied, ending the call. She showed the X-Powder screen to Alex and Clover, who'd heard the conversation. On the X-Powder screen was a map of the city, with a green dot signifying the X-Powder's location for them, and a red dot for their destination.

"Time to change and jet?" Alex inquired. Sam and Clover nodded, and they walked into an alley to duck behind a building to be sure no one would see them. They each pressed a button on their respective X-Powders to cause their casual outfits to be replaced with their spy suits, then took off using their jetpacks, rocketing into the partly cloudy morning sky.

 **Tatsumi Port Island Pier**

Kaito disembarked from the bus at the eastern side of town wearing a black backpack. He walked purposefully down the sidewalk in the relatively quiet part of town. The young man stepped onto the concrete of a particular pier he'd researched in advance. His destination was the cannery that had shut down in recent years; a large grey rectangular peak-roofed structure set near the end of the short pier. Nearby he saw large metallic shipping containers of red, blue and green. Men at a nearby pier had set extra containers there so they could be accessed by the nearby crane since the cannery had shut down.

He walked around the back of the structure, dropped his backpack, unzipped it and pulled out the ring.

This isolated place would be perfect to hide out in until the full moon rose. And was spacious enough to accommodate the many guests he planned to invite.

 _I'll deal with any uninvited guests too,_ Kaito thought. For now, though, he merely needed to get inside.

 **A/N: Thank you for reading. Please feel free to share your thoughts as well. Hope you're enjoying the story.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Tatsumi Port Island, Apartment Building**

The trio soon arrived at the grey concrete building, and landed behind it to change back to casual wear. They walked to the front entryway and searched the names listed at the call box. Alex pressed a square black button that matched the text on her X-Powder.

After a moment, an elderly male voice replied. "Yes?"

"Hi, I'm a friend of Kaito. Is he in?" she asked casually, the WOOHP translator device working nicely.

"Friend?" the voice replied, surprised. "No, he's not in."

"Oh, well I've got a USB drive of his from work I wanted to return," she said, trailing off, following the plan they'd come up with earlier that morning.

"Come on up," the man said, and an electronic buzz indicated the front door had unlocked.

"Thanks!" Alex replied, and they went through the door to a flight of stairs that took them to the second floor. Alex led them to the slightly worn brown apartment door, where she rang the doorbell.

The door opened a crack, and the face of an elderly man peered out surprised at the three foreign girls.

"Who are you?" he asked in surprise over the faint sounds of a television show's chatter.

"I'm Alex, and this is Sam, and Clover," she replied, indicating each of them in turn. "We met at work before Kaito left, but he forgot to take his USB drive," she said, holding up a small black stick. "Oh yeah, and do you mind if I use your restroom really quick?" she asked sheepishly.

"Oh, no problem, young lady," he replied, undoing the door chain. He waved them in, and Alex handed him the device, then took off her shoes after noticing the shoe rack nearby.

"Thanks so much. So um-" she said. She then pointed to a hall branching off from the living room.

"Eh, right down there. Oh, I'm Yoshide," he replied, blinking at the unusual visitors.

"Good to meet you. Ok, thanks. Be right back!" she replied.

"Yes, thanks Mr. Shirato. We must've had an outdated phone number or we'd have called ahead," Sam explained to the man clearly.

"Your Japanese is amazing," the Yoshide said. "When I opened the door, I was surprised," he confessed, then turned down the TV's volume with a remote. "If you want his phone number..." the man trailed off, then walked towards an end table with post its, mail, and a framed photo of himself and an older woman. He looked at a small note, then wrote on a post it for a minute. Sam had her X-Powder out, pressed a button to record audio, and closed it up to put it in her pocket.

Yoshide returned slowly. "Here," he said, and handed over the paper to Sam.

"You've been a big help. Thanks," Sam said, and looked to Yoshide gratefully.

"Thank you," Alex said, as she returned to the others. They went back out the front door, and gave a small wave to Yoshide.

"Goodbye," she old man said, and closed the door.

Alex looked to Sam and Clover with an intent expression. "Guys, I found Kaito's room while I was gone, and guess what I found?" Alex said as they walked to the stairs leading back to the bottom floor.

"A funky-looking spider robot thing. It's gotta be what was used at the police station," she added, showing Sam and Clover a picture she'd taken on her X-Powder of the machine. She closed up her X-Powder and stashed it.

"Great work, Alex," Sam replied, as they reached the bottom of the stairs. "Now how about we make a call to Kaito, and trace his location?" she asked the others, her own X-Powder open. Alex and Clover nodded slightly in response.

They found a bench in the small lobby along the side wall. Alex, (whose hiragana deciphering skills were a little rusty) took Sam's X-Powder, and with the help of the WOOHP text translator, entered in the number. She looked to Clover and Sam for confirmation before hitting send. Sam held up an index finger as a signal to wait, then pressed a few buttons to change the caller ID of the X-Powder to the home phone of the Shirato residence. She then pressed a button which caused a lighter blue tint to the top screen of the device, one more to cause a green rectangular light to appear on the console section, and pressed the send button.

"Hello? Dad? What're you calling for?" a male voice gruffly inquired.

"Just checking up on you. Everything ok- son?" Sam said, her voice modulated to match that of Yoshide, thanks to her recording, and the X-Powder's voice modulator.

"You're acting weird. Relax. I'll be back later. 'Bye," he said curtly.

"Bye," Sam said quickly before Kaito ended the call. She looked to Alex and Clover triumphantly.

"Used a voice modulator to sound like his dad," she explained. "And got a trace," she said, excitedly, pressing a button to switch the screen to show a map with a red blip indicating their destination.

"Great job, Sammy," replied Clover.

"Right on!" enthused Alex.

Sam closed up the device, and they left the building, then hurried to the nearby alley.

"Jetpacks again?" Clover inquired. Sam and Alex gave a nod, and they pressed X-Powder buttons to change back to spy garb, then activated their jetpacks to take to the skies again.

 **A/N: Once again, thank you for reading this story. Please feel free to review, and I hope you enjoy!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Tatsumi Port Island Pier**

They followed Sam's GPS to its source; a closed down cannery at the eastern piers of the city. They'd found cover between a few large metallic shipping containers near the building that was the source of the signal. Clover finished a swig of her water bottle, and stashed it in her backpack.

"Typical hideout," Clover mused with a hint of irritation. Alex smiled wanly in response.

"I'll let Mitsuru know what's up," Alex said, looking to Clover, then Sam.

"Sounds good. I wonder if we're really about to wrap this up?" Sam replied, moving windswept stray hair back into place. The sun was gradually getting closer to the horizon, signifying the clock ticking on stopping this madman before the full moon rose.

"Sure hope so. Feels funny not doing this by ourselves though," Clover said. She had her M-Ray contacts out and in place to better keep watch by looking through their cover.

"Mmhm. We found him," Alex said quietly over the X-Powder, and pressed a button. "That's our location," she added. Alex listened intently for a bit. "Got it. Thanks," she said, and hung up.

Sam made eye contact with Alex while Clover inclined her head slightly, and shifted closer, focused on lookout. "She said to stay put til they show up. They'll be here as soon as they can," Alex said.

"Considering what we heard last night about these Shadows, and how they work, I'm going to say that's a good idea," Sam replied and gave a nervous smile to her friends.

Alex's brows raised. "Yup, it's a little different for us, but it makes sense. That place could be rigged with hidden cameras for all we know," she said with a shrug.

"No security around here so far," Clover said, shifting her support leg in her crouched position. She briefly glanced skyward for any possible surveillance drones, then back towards the cannery.

Before long, two black sedans pulled in, close as possible to the spies' location. Mitsuru, Aigis, Labrys, and Koromaru emerged from one, and Akihiko, Junpei, and Yukari from the other. They walked quickly after Mitsuru, who followed the green dot on her smartphone to the spies' precise location.

"Glad you could make it," Alex quipped quietly with a smile. Sam and Clover gave thankful looks to the Shadow Operatives as well.

"Yes, we got here as quickly as we could. As you can imagine, we don't get threats like this often," Mitsuru replied. She wore an intricate black combat bodysuit and gloves, and had a rapier in a scabbard. "But since the theft, I asked my friends to try to free up their schedules a bit in preparation for something like this. Excellent job," she said.

The girls smiled in response, and Akihiko inclined his head in agreement. He wore loose-fitting beige pants, combat boots, red fighting gloves with metal plates, and a red cape with a hood over his shirtless upper body. He had scars on his chest, and wore a combat knife at his side. "It's unusual to team up with others, but what you've done so far is outside our expertise. So thanks," he said evenly.

"Our pleasure, Akihiko," Clover said, gazing back at him dreamily. Sam and Alex voiced agreement with slight smirks towards Clover and a slightly bashful Akihiko.

Junpei was dressed in a blue and white baseball uniform and held a metallic baseball over a shoulder.

"Whoa, I wasn't expecting that for a combat outfit," Alex said with a surprised look.

"Yeah, it's a part-time gig, and it's all I've got," he said with an offhanded smile.

Yukari wore a pink sentai-style hero outfit, complete with a small white cape. She held a pink helmet under one arm and a metallic longbow with feather designs on the ends in the other hand.

"Now that is a stylin' outfit," Clover remarked to Yukari. Alex and Sam nodded in agreement.

"Aha, thanks guys. There's a story behind it-," Yukari replied. "I'll tell ya afterwards," she said, with a gesture to Mitsuru, who was waiting patiently.

"These are the anti-Shadow weapons I mentioned," Mitsuru said. She, Aigis, and Labrys handed a small grey baton to each of the spies. "Press the button in the middle to extend them," Mitsuru said.

The girls did so, then spread out a bit for room, and swung them a bit to test their feel.

"Wow, first time getting gadgets from anyone besides Jerry," Clover remarked.

"Yup, but usually our gadgets are disguised as something else. Like these would be hairbrushes or something," Alex said, as they pressed their buttons a second time to make them retract.  
"But these are awesome, thanks," she added.

"Fantastic combat uniforms," Aigis noted with an impressed look.

"Thanks, Aigis," Sam replied, smiling.

"Also, my scan is not picking up any surveillance cameras," Aigis said.

"Hmm. Well, I suggest all those who can fly move in first," Mitsuru said, looking to the spies and androids. "We'll move once you've given the all-clear," she said, indicating herself and the others.

"Understood. Let's go," replied Aigis, igniting her thrusters. The spies and Labrys did so as well, then they quickly flew to the cannery roof and landed near a skylight.

"That's amazing. You both can fly," Alex enthused to Aigis and Labrys.

The androids smiled in return, and Aigis peered intently through the skylight. "I am detecting Shadow activity near the entrance to the building. If we had entered through there without a scan of Shadows, we would've been ambushed," Aigis informed the others after tapping an aural disk where her ear would be. She spoke quietly over the comlink, listened for a few moments, uttered a goodbye, and made eye contact with the others.

"We're clear to enter and engage the enemy. Mitsuru and the others are standing by at the entrance," she said evenly.

 **A/N: Thank you for reading. Hope you enjoyed. Please favorite and review if you enjoyed it. Your support means a lot.**


	10. Chapter 10

Clover already had her Laser Lipstick out and cut the skylight lock. Aigis grabbed the heavy rectangular frame and lifted it. The others hovered under it and drifted into the building. Aigis then flew in and quietly lowered the frame down above her. Aigis then took point and spotted familiar oozing black shapes gathered in the darkness near the large metal doors of the front entryway. Each distinct shape had a blue mask with hollow eye holes and a black open gaping mouth. The fingertips of her hands retracted, and she aimed them to both sides of the doors, where the creatures waited to attack intruders. Light, metallic sounds rang out as she fired bullets into each of the creatures' masks. In moments, each of them oozed lower to the floor before vanishing. The spies looked on in amazement at her, then at one another, while Labrys gave them a smile.

"Clear," Aigis said into her internal comlink.

They all flew down to the doors, Labrys watching their backs. Clover unlocked the doors, and Mitsuru and Akihiko entered, followed by the others. The large group fanned out slightly and walked quickly through the expansive room. A light shone out from the relative darkness from what appeared to be the manager's office, and they slowed their pace.

"One Shadow reading in there," Aigis said quietly.

After passing a green industrial-sized canning machine, a black humanoid shape could be seen in the office, kneeling on the floor.

"What in the world-" Sam muttered, as everyone readied their weapons.

"Hello," echoed a distorted male voice from the form, its mouth devoid of teeth or tongue.  
"You found me sooner than expected. Maybe those three helped you..." the creature uttered, inclining its head towards the spies. Sam, Clover, and Alex looked at the creature fearfully as it stood.  
"No matter. I will see to my brother's work as the full moon rises," he said confidently.

Mitsuru clenched her teeth, thinking quickly. She needed more information.

"Your brother's- You're Kaito?!" Mitsuru shouted. "I assume the work is to use those artifacts to plunge the world into a permanent Dark Hour, allowing Shadows to overrun humanity," she said vehemently. "We won't allow that!" she finished, followed by words of agreement from her allies.

Kaito's simple, Shadow-like head tilted slightly. "You have no say in this. This is what Strega- what my brother wanted. You took him away from me. My life's worthless anyway. So is this world. Now my puppets will play with you. I'm busy," he uttered vengefully. Kaito raised his arms and extended tendrils in a wide arc before himself.

"Wha-?" Yukari asked in surprise as everyone readied themselves for combat.

The tendrils detached in a flash and changed into an assortment of Shadows that appeared all around them. Some were giant muscular humanoid brawlers. Others resembled square tables with a variety of sharp knives hovering above their surfaces menacingly. A squadron of crow-like Shadows carried small lanterns emitting a ghostly blue light. A platoon of multi-armed blobs, each holding a sword, undulated in place. Finally, there were a few huge creatures that resembled lions, each with a floating massive ball and chain clamped to a rear leg. The beasts growled ferociously, and paced impatiently.

Sam, Alex, and Clover looked at the army of creatures in surprise, alert to the slightest movement of any possible attacks. Sam hissed softly in unease, especially displeased with the number and variety of supernatural creatures. _So many unknowns; I don't like this at all.  
_  
 **A/N: I've been second-guessing the story length and rethinking the details for a long time. Feel free to review with your thoughts. Thank you. Hope you're enjoying it!**


	11. Chapter 11

"What's the plan?" Akihiko softly asked Mitsuru. "Just take him down now?" he questioned tersely.

Her eyes darted to him for a moment. "It might not be that simple," Mitsuru replied. "Those relics are likely the key. We've got to find them," she added.

"M-Ray Contacts, girls," Sam said, and the three quickly had them out and in place. "We'll be your search team," Sam said as she, Clover, and Alex used their jetpacks to spread out and scan the area with the benefit of seeing through objects.

"We'll cover you!" Aigis called out, hovering via her back thrusters with Labrys at her side.

"So long. Say goodbye to humanity," Kaito muttered in displeasure. With a gesture, all the Shadows surged forth. He dropped into a pool of black liquid shooting off to a chute in the floor just outside the office.

"Artemisia!" Mitsuru shouted, stretching her arm forward in a beckoning gesture. Since the events of Labrys' abduction and later the P1 Climax, the need for Shadow Operatives to use Evokers to summon Personas had ended, perhaps due to entering the TV World. It was preferable, since Evokers were unloaded guns. Previously everyone had to point them at their heads and pull the trigger to cause the mental stress needed to summon a Persona. Now a simple gesture and the verbal command sufficed.

Sam, Clover, and Alex gasped as a huge black and white humanoid female shimmered into existence behind Mitsuru. It wore an elaborate dress, dotted with metal spikes and had a red half mask with a pointed nose. It held a segmented metallic whip at the ready.

"Ice!" called out Mitsuru the next moment, and her Persona lashed its whip at the retreating black shape, causing a stream of ice to shoot forth and freeze it in place.

Junpei had gestured soon after as he yelled, "Trismegistus!" An imposing red knight-like Persona covered with enormous gold blades appeared. It flew into the closest approaching Shadows in an arc, slamming them aside.

"Isis!" Yukari said, seconds later, and a silver and black Persona with a female head and torso popped into reality. It had two pairs of enormous metallic wings, some with red and blue markings, and atop its head it held a red mirror between two long horns.

"Wind!" Yukari shouted, and concentrated green bursts of air battered a nearby multi-armed Shadow.

Almost simultaneously, Akihiko called out "Ceasar!" Suddenly, a towering black and white humanoid Persona dressed similar to its namesake was there. It held a giant sword in one hand and a replica of the earth in its other. Immediately, it swung its sword to protect Akihiko from a brawler Shadow.

Koromaru howled, causing Cerebus to manifest. There stood a massive three-headed black dog with a pair of decorative metallic wings and steel collars around each neck. It struck out at three crow Shadows at once with its powerful jaws.

"Athena!" Aigis exclaimed, and a Persona dressed to resemble its namesake came into view. It held a long lance with an exceedingly large gold blade. A giant blue and gold shield floated before it. It hovered above the floor, tunic billowing as it moved, with no sign of feet. It swung forth suddenly, skewering enemies in its path.

Finally, Labrys shouted "Ariadne!" to cause her Persona to appear. The tall, graceful metallic humanoid female was a blueish-white android. Its head visor and lack of conventional feet resembled Labrys herself. The creature's long aqua-colored hair billowed upwards behind it. With a motion of its hand, large decorative red arrows shot from the floor into a few table Shadows, holding them in place.

Junpei's Persona flew up, then fiercely plunged back down into the table Shadows, eliminating them.  
Another table Shadow soon approached, and Junpei dodged and used his bat to block the blades that swung towards him.

Koromaru's Persona darted over to shoot a stream of fire from its mouths into the table Shadow and a few crow Shadows in the area as well, causing them all to dissipate.

Two giant brawler Shadows advanced on Koromaru and Mitsuru, in hopes of an ambush, but Yukari's Persona shot out twin tornadoes, knocking them off-balance. Yukari quickly had let loose two white arrows which struck each in the forehead part of their masks to dispose of them.

Akihiko's Persona had dispatched the brawler Shadow from earlier and now faced three multi-armed Shadows. Caesar raised its sword, and a lightning storm erupted from it into the approaching Shadows, destroying two of them. Akihiko braced for the one that survived, and dodged a series of sword swings from it nimbly. In a flash, he let out a right hook that that brought the metallic plate of his custom fighting glove into the mask of the Shadow, causing its mask to shatter. The creature dissipated, and Akihiko turned to search for the next enemy.

Sam, Clover, and Alex were hovering about searching for the relics via their jetpacks and M-Rays, striking down crow Shadows that neared them. They managed to dodge bursts of flame that any managed to send out of their lanterns. Sam and her friends were taken aback by the strange creatures and the enormity of the chaotic battle at first, but soon adapted. What had previously seemed like an absurd number of allies, was now looking to be very useful in such a large scale battle.

Sam noticed Junpei and his Persona were dealing with a persistent brawler Shadow and a quick crow Shadow. She flew down and struck the back of the brawler's knee, causing it to drop into a kneel and turn in surprise. Junpei's Persona flew up and smashed through the high-altitude crow Shadow. Junpei leaped to the brawler and brought down his anti-Shadow bat in a powerful arc, obliterating the Shadow's mask.

"Hey, thanks!" Junpei called out to Sam and gesture with his bat before looking for the next Shadow. Sam smiled, briefly waved, and then refocused her search for the relics.

Clover swatted down a crow Shadow, then swiveled around to avoid being blindsided by a sneak attack. Nearby, Aigis rocketed with a metallic kick into a crafty crow Shadow, disposing of it.  
She glanced towards Clover and noticed another one that had popped up from behind a large machine to aim a sneak attack shot.

Not having a clear shot, Aigis snapped, "Athena!"

The Persona flew into the enemy from the side, impaling the Shadow's mask with its huge lance blade.  
Clover, who'd just dispatched another Shadow, turned at the sound of the impact to see Athena, with the Shadow dissipating on its lance.

"Thanks!" she called to Aigis in relief, and quickly scanned the area for enemies or relics.

"My pleasure!" Aigis said loudly to be heard over the din of the battle around them.

Even Koromaru eliminated enemies using his anti-Shadow knife designed to be gripped in his mouth.  
With startling precision he jumped to a table Shadow, splitting its mask in half before its hovering blades could hit him. His landed near his Persona, who was covering him from surprise attacks.

Mitsuru used her rapier to skewer the masks of any Shadows that made it past her Persona, and glanced at the frozen ringleader beside her. _He knows where those relics are_... she thought intently.

 **A/N: Thanks for reading this far. I hope your enjoying the story, and look forward to reviews expressing your thoughts.**


	12. Chapter 12

A shot from a crow Shadow sailed nearby suddenly and struck the ice holding Kaito. The ice melted and he quickly slipped into the drain he'd made a break for earlier.

"Aigis!" Mitsuru yelled, busy with the crow Shadow and now a multi-armed Shadow that had appeared. "Take the spies and follow Kaito! He may lead you to the relics!" she managed between breaths of exertion from dodging and parrying attacks.

"Roger!" Aigis replied who'd turned to the drain and was already on the way. Sam noticed the exchange, signaled to Clover and Alex to follow, and reached the metal grate moments after.

Sam used her Laser Lipstick to cut the bolts securing the cover, then Aigis grabbed it and tossed it aside. She glanced to the spies and Labrys, who'd landed behind them to provide cover. Mitsuru and the others had regrouped to cover them as well. Surprisingly, there was still a fair number of Shadows they were battling, including the formidable lion Shadows.

Aigis dropped into the drain chute, followed by the spies, then Labrys. Each paused briefly to provide space between them for whatever was ahead. Darkness grew as they plummeted for a few moments, but Aigis activated a lamp on her headband which lit the way with a small yet strong beam of light. Aigis' unique feet, which were essentially toeless cylindrical extensions of her legs, impacted with the metal bars of a grate cover. The spies had slowed to a stop using gloved hands and their boots on the chute slides. Labrys, bringing up the rear, activated her back thrusters to hover.

The blonde android had considered blasting the cover on her way down, but didn't want to risk injury to her allies in the narrow space. Instead she pushed on the bars until the cover was torn free, stripping the bolts holding it. She dropped through and activated her thrusters, entering the large, dark room through its ceiling. The spies used their jetpacks to hover behind her, followed by Labrys, flying behind them on high alert.

"Ugh," Alex muttered with a distasteful expression, repulsed by the dank smell that reached her.  
Sam and Clover reacted similarly, but quickly focused their M-Ray-assisted eyes on potential leads to the location of the relics.

"Sensors are picking up Shadow activity-" Aigis stated ominously, looking below with a beam of light. "Everywhere," she finished, illuminating a disturbingly large section of floor which seemed to be moving unnaturally. "Don't land, anyone! The floor's covered with Shadows!" Aigis announced.

They all quickly flew upwards with a chorus of started yelps, and a multitude of stretching limbs shot up towards them. The spies had their staves back out and extended, darting about evasively and using them to swat away attacks.

Incredibly, small rocket launchers extended out from either side of Aigis' torso. She released about a dozen small rockets to strafe the huge mass of Shadows below them with explosions that lit up the room, drowning out the bizarre squelching of the masked monsters.

The floor was clear of enemies. But the concrete below was too damaged to properly walk upon, so the group hovered further into the cavernous room. Alex sighed in relief, adrenaline still coursing through her. She made brief eye contact with Sam and Clover to see they were okay. They also looked relieved, yet were intently looking for the next possible attack.

"Sensors still indicate-" Aigis began.

"On the wall-!" Clover exclaimed, and Labrys' headband lamp illuminated impossibly long, thin limbs shooting out from a sea of Shadows on the closest wall. The opposite wall also shot out a vast number of limbs. The spies, Aigis, and Labrys avoided attacks and defended themselves until Alex, then Clover were overwhelmed by the sheer number of them. Arms pinned, they were unable to reach their Laser Lipsticks. Labrys quickly tore through some Shadow limbs with her giant rocket-powered axe a safe distance from the two girls. Aigis and Sam were covering themselves from attacks, yet still moved to defeat the enemies at the source.

 **A/N: I'm posting these chapters a bit quicker now, and hope they've been re-checked enough times. Feel free to review, favorite, etc., as always. Thanks very much!**


	13. Chapter 13

"Athena!" Aigis called, summoning her Persona and igniting a ring of fire vertically around herself. She and Athena plowed straight into approaching limbs, destroying them until they reached and eliminated the vulnerable masks on the Shadows themselves at the wall.

"Ariadne!" Labrys yelled, summoning her Persona. She pointed to the Shadow limbs attempting to both pull Clover and Alex away and overwhelm them. However, Ariadne formed large rotating gears of red energy, that precisely sliced through the multitude of limbs.

"Whew- Thanks!" Alex said to Labrys as relief washed over her.

"Thanks, Labrys!" Clover exclaimed, weakened from the creatures' attack, but seemingly unharmed.

Aigis noted the exchange briefly while fighting and dodging, then registered an incoming call.

"We're finished here Aigis," Mitsuru said over the android's intercom. "We're coming to back you up," she added tersely.

"Careful," Aigis managed while striking a number of Shadow limbs with her diminishing fire. "It's a long drop. Dark. Floor's destroyed. Shadows everywhere-" she added, then cut off the call. Aigis then focused on supporting Labrys, who was defending the spies vigorously. They'd made their way to the far end of the room, and her headlamp verified what her sensors were telling her- Kaito was right before them.

"It's time to end everything!" he called out in heavily distorted voice. The number of Shadow limbs increased greatly, and Aigis shifted into Orgia Mode. This gave her a significant boost in speed and power for a short time. She sent Athena to cover the spies with her shield and spear. Aigis used the last of her ammunition to blast away at enemies. Once she ran out, she tore through Shadows with her hands and feet at high speed. Labrys had her Persona summon red energy in the form of a giant bull's head and torso, and the two plowed through countless Shadow limbs and masks, eliminating them. Clover and Alex were swinging their staves to cover Sam, who finally had a chance to look for the relics, thanks to her M-Rays.

A blast of wind from behind alerted them to presence of their allies joining them. After dropping into the chute, Yukari had used her Persona's wind power to float them down safely to the others where the floor was intact. She'd never used the power so precisely before and was exhausted, so Junpei and Koromaru were covering her. Koromaru's Persona lit the way with three-headed fire. Cerebus now used some of that to blast a score of enemy Shadows.

Aigis had held off the enemy well, but was now damaged and burned out with the end of Orgia Mode. Her Persona had left, and she moved behind Mitsuru and Akihiko to rest. "Well done, Aigis," Mitsuru said to her friend. She and Akihiko quickly gestured to the advancing mass of Shadows.

"Ice! Rise up!" she yelled, rapier held out as her Persona appeared behind her.

"Ceasar!" Akihiko ordered. The large humanoid Persona materialized at his call.

A giant pillar of ice erupted into the mass of Shadows, extinguishing them. This was followed by a small electrical storm of lightning bolts which decimated other Shadows nearby. Junpei's Persona shot concentrated bursts of flame at the seemingly endless supply of Shadows. Labrys held a few masses of Shadows in spheres of red energy thanks to her Persona. She swung her axe back, fired up its booster rockets, and gave a loud shout as she swung with massive force through a score of enemies.

Yukari's Persona was unavailable at this point, so she shot off her last arrows, then used her bow for a few in-close attacks.

Despite the bedlam, Sam had finally spotted the relics, hidden behind Kaito himself. He was distracted to the point that she, Clover and Alex had a clear shot at objects. They had their Laser Lipsticks out in a flash, each using their M-Rays to aim precisely at what would be invisible to others.

 **A/N: Once again, thanks for reading through this story. I hope you enjoy and share your thoughts.**


	14. Chapter 14

"Now!" Sam said emphatically, and fired to melt the ring. Clover melted the dagger simultaneously with her shot. Alex hit and melted the base of the mirror, but quickly flew in with her staff to shatter the mirror itself.

"Bad luck for you!" she called out determinedly.

Kaito's eyes went wide with shock. The endlessly reproducing Shadows that had managed to nearly escape up the shaft to the first floor faded from reality. All other Shadows vanished as well, ending with the one that had enveloped Kaito. He lay on the floor, unconscious but still breathing.

Those remaining Personas present were dismissed, and all weapons were put away or lowered.

"We... did it," Mitsuru said, a look of relief washing over her face. She breathed out a sigh, slumped in exhaustion, and made eye contact with the others, including Sam.

"Yes!" Sam exclaimed, followed by expressions of victory from everyone else.

Aigis looked down intensely at Kaito and lifted him up over her shoulder. "Time to go," she said.

"Got that right. I've had enough of this place!" Clover replied, as she, Sam, and Alex ignited their jetpacks. The others assented, illuminated by Aigis's and Labrys's headlamps.

"I don't think I can do that wind trick back up," Yukari informed the others.

"That's okay," Mitsuru replied. "Sam, Clover, Alex, Labrys- can you give us a lift back up?" she inquired, indicating Yukari, Akihiko, Jupei, Koromaru, and herself.

"Of course," Alex replied. She flew over to Mitsuru, grabbed her firmly under the armpits and lifted off with her to the shaft. Aigis flew behind her with Kaito, lighting the way. Clover grabbed Yukari in the same way Alex had used, and flew up after Aigis. Sam decided she could lift Koromaru, who she cradled in her arms. He looked up to her in appreciation, illuminated by Labrys's headlamp. Labrys held Akihiko and flew to illuminate those before her.

"Be right back fer ya, Junpei!" Labrys called over her shoulder.

"Alright! Guess I'm last..." he muttered back, and took a seat on a chunk of concrete in the dark.

Soon everyone was back on the ground level on the cannery. Labrys made another trip to retrieve a grateful Junpei who insisted he wasn't upset at being left for last.

Jerry, flanked by two WOOHP agents had entered the building moments ago, summoned by Clover's use of her X-Powder's distress button before dropping down the shaft. The agents took Kaito from Aigis, and Jerry nodded in appreciation to them as the unconscious man was cuffed and carried off.

"Well done everyone. My, what a group here," Jerry remarked at the eclectic people and animal standing beside the spies. "Ah, I'm Jerry, head of the World Organization of Human Protection. Thank you for helping my agents in the field," he added, looking to them appreciatively.

"Good to meet you, I'm Mitsuru. We actually offered to let them skip the battle we just had, but their help was invaluable," an exhausted Mitsuru replied, indicating Sam, Alex, and Clover.

"Thanks. Oh, and Jerry's the best boss ever. He helped make this all happen," Alex said in a matter-of-fact way. Jerry smiled humbly in response.

"So what's going to happen to Kaito?" Sam asked, looking to Mitsuru and Jerry.

"We'll take him to WOOHP to make sure all traces of Shadows are out of him," Jerry replied. "I've already contacted local authorities, and they agree a WOOHP holding cell is the best security for him, just in case," he added.

Clover looked to Mitsuru. "Now that it's over, you don't have any other dangerous stuff in that police station someone else might want to steal?" she asked.

"I don't believe so," Mitsuru replied, looking a bit embarrassed. "I never knew those relics could be used like that... and assumed no one would be able to steal from the police," she added.

"It's cool. I completely understand," Clover replied.

Mitsuru gave a thoughtful look to her and the other WOOHP agents. "But I'll sort through the rest of the relics first chance I get, and will have anything else questionable destroyed," she said, looking around the large group. "Thank you, everyone," she said, and bowed to Jerry. Soon everyone was in good spirits congratulating each other as they left the building.

 **A/N: Feel free to share your thoughts. Hope you're enjoying. Thank you!**


	15. Chapter 15

"My drivers can give everyone rides to where they need to go," she announced, then took out her phone to make the calls.

"Wish I could hang out some more, but I guess we're all beat and need to get going," Sam said a bit sadly, looking around the large group. Her mind was still reeling from the events that had just happened, but her nerves were finally calming down.  
Jerry smiled in understanding. "When you've said goodbye, I'll fly you back to the hotel and we'll go back home," he offered.

Alex nodded to Jerry, then turned to Aigis and surprised her with a big hug. "I'll miss all of you," she said, breaking the hug to pet Koromaru briefly, than stand to look back to Aigis. "Thanks for everything back there," she added.

"My pleasure," Aigis said happily. "You and your friends have an amazing bond," she added.  
She stumbled a bit, still reeling from the effects of the damage taken in battle. Labrys was quickly at her side, and Aigis slung an arm in appreciation over her shoulder for support.

"Thank you, sister," Aigis said wearily to Labrys. The other android nodded with a firm smile.

"We'll get you repaired as soon as we get back," Mitsuru said, looking at her damaged friend with concern. Labrys looked from Mitsuru to the spies, shifting her weight to better support Aigis.

"Yeah, I'm glad I met you guys! And that we made it through in one piece," Labrys said, smiling.

"Same here," Sam consented. "Thanks so much, Labrys," she added.

"Glad ta help," Labrys replied enthusiastically.

Junpei used his bat to lean on as a makeshift cane, also a bit weary from the ordeal.

"You three are something else," Junpei remarked enthusiastically. "Beautiful, brave, and heroic. If it weren't for Chidori..." he started, then trailed off with a grin, and shook hands with each of them.

"That's sweet of you Junpei. You take care," Alex said to him warmly.

Yukari stepped forward and bowed slightly to the spies. "Thanks so much for helping us out. And not even being Persona-users-" she said, hands clasped behind her. "Such cool outfits... and... do you go to college?" she asked.

"Our pleasure. Yeah, we're in college. I'm majoring in fashion design. You?" Clover replied.

Yukari nodded in response. "Yep, I'm a student and do some fashion modeling. And acting for a kids' action show," she said. She took a seat, still winded from the battle, and Clover did the same.

"No way! That's awesome," Clover replied. "Let me get your email and number," she said excitedly, digging into her backpack for her X-Powder.

Akihiko shifted his weight slightly and rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess this is goodbye," he said a bit gloomily. The girls looked at him with interest.

"Alex, I could tell from the battle that your fighting skills are second to none. You remind me of my friend Chie. Good teaming up with you," he said warmly.

"Sam, your leadership and intelligence remind me of Mitsuru," he said a bit bashfully.

"Oh thanks, I'm going to miss you!" Alex replied.

"Thanks!" Sam added, smiling at the compliments.

Clover finished typing in Yukari's contact info and looked at a slightly flustered Akihiko.

"Clover... you were great too. Hope we meet again sometime," he added bashfully.

She stood up and beamed. "Thank you. Definitely on meeting again," she added with a dreamy look in her eyes. Mitsuru blinked, then cleared her throat.

"I can never thank you enough for what you've done," Mitsuru said to the spies. "And though we've just met, I feel as if we're already good friends," she added.

The girls voiced agreement, and Mitsuru gave them each a handshake. Alex surprised her with a hug, then suddenly remembered something.

"We forgot to give you the weapons back," Alex said, starting to remove her backpack. Sam and Clover began to do the same.

"Please, keep them. I hope to see you again someday. Best of luck back home," Mitsuru said with a smile.

The spies thanked her and finally boarded the jet with Jerry, and the engines started, causing a quiet whooshing sound. Mitsuru's group gave a final wave goodbye to them before walking over to the cars waiting nearby. The WOOHP jet took off for the start of their journey back home.

Clover winced and groaned slightly as she put her hands to her lower back. She saw Alex was gritting her teeth in discomfort as well. "Now that the adrenaline's worn off, I'm feeling the burn from that monster squeeze," Clover said to the others.

Alex grimaced a bit. "And the heavy lifting afterwards," she added. Sam took both their hands in concern.

Jerry looked at them sympathetically. "Oh dear, we'll have the WOOHP medics take a look at you two back home," he said.

"I didn't get grabbed by any monsters, and didn't even lift a person. I'm sorry," Sam said, looking sadly at Clover then Alex..

"It's alright Sam. Things were crazy in there," Alex replied. "Let's just get home," she said expectantly.

 **A/N: Yet again, thanks for taking the time to read this. I appreciate any support in the form of comments and so on!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Mali-U Penthouse Dorm**

After an uneventful time packing at the hotel and return trip, the girls were back home. They'd gotten cleaned up, changed and even unpacked. Alex called Vergil, her former boss at the Mali-U Cafe, who lived in the dorms. He was her regular caretaker for Oinky when they were away from home for more than a day. The small, lovable pig had grown to accept the blonde young man.

Vergil was soon at the penthouse dorm's front door with a duffel bag. Oinky poked her head out and squealed in delight as the door was opened. "Vergil! Oinky!" she exclaimed. Alex scooped her pig out from the bag for a hug.

"Hey Alex! She was a good girl. How was your trip?" he asked as he zipped the bag shut and adjusted his glasses with a smile.

"Good. Hectic!" she replied, "thanks so much Verg," she added, petting Oinky.

They exchanged goodbyes, and after Vergil left, returned to the living room. Sam sat in a recliner, and Clover took a spot on the couch. A mellow instrumental song played at low volume on the digital music player via speakers.

"Wow, what a mission," Sam said, "it was- really different, huh?" she continued, tired from the incredible events and jet lag. "I... might have nightmares," she confessed. "But you guys. I'm sorry you got hurt. I hope you feel better soon," she said sadly.

Alex and Clover had a brief medical exam at WOOHP which revealed no serious injury, thankfully. But workouts were off the table until the back muscle strain wore off after a week or so. Sam handed off ice packs to both friends. They'd already used more of the WOOHP trauma ointment after getting cleaned up.

Clover sipped her tea, then put down the mug and gave her friend a supportive shoulder hug. "Yeah, it got pretty scary, but I'm glad we stayed til the end," she replied. "I'm trying not to think about the crazy parts too," Clover added with a tone of empathy.

"It scared me so much. And I hate this pain. But Clover and I'll be better soon," Alex said in exhaustion. She sighed, then brightened a bit. "Those guys we met were amazing. I'm glad we met them," she said, sinking into the couch, and giving a glance to Clover, then Sam.

"Yeah, I wonder if we'll meet again without all the craziness?" Sam mused. She thought back to the countless people they'd rescued and worked with in the past. Some they'd actually kept in touch with despite WOOHP policy. Exceptions were made for them due to their saving the world so many times.

"Good to be back," Clover said, sinking deeper into the couch. "Back to normal life," she said with a petite yawn and a series of blinks.

"Mm-hmm, and I'm thankful for that," Alex said said quietly with a mellow smile.

And in time, routine life was back in swing after they'd once again achieved the seemingly impossible.

Totally.

 **A/N: Hope you liked it! Please share any thoughts you have, and thanks for reading.**


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